


Untitled Ficlet

by brynnmck



Category: due South
Genre: M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-11-19
Updated: 2007-11-19
Packaged: 2017-12-14 18:10:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/839831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brynnmck/pseuds/brynnmck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>According to Francesca, the two Rays' decision to "shack up together"—as she put it—within about six months of being partnered at the precinct had surprised a fairly large number of people.  Fraser hadn't been one of those people.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled Ficlet

Ray picked up on the third ring. "Yyy-ello."

"Hello, Ray."

"Benny!" Surprise and pleasure, and a smile Fraser could feel even from thousands of kilometers away. "Good to hear your voice."

"And yours." Fraser settled back more comfortably in his chair, which caused Dief to rearrange his head on Fraser's foot with an annoyed whine. "I trust you've been well?" He spoke to Ray once a month or so, and long letters from Francesca periodically appeared in his mail, filled with exclamation points and misspellings and smelling like perfume and baby powder, but still, he never quite felt that he caught up.

"Can't complain too much. Another day, another dollar, another bad guy, another nephew. You know. How're things up north?"

"Fine, thank you." Fraser cast about for an interesting tidbit to share, but it would be winter soon, and it seemed even the wicked were resting for the moment. He'd laid in several cords of wood by his cabin and started feeding the dogs raw food instead of kibble, but he was fairly certain that news wasn't worth thirty-five cents a minute.

"If by 'fine' you mean 'freezing,' then yeah, I can see that." On the other end of the line, Fraser heard a door close. "Hey, I was gonna tell you about—Kowalski!" Ray interrupted himself. "How many times I gotta tell you to hang up your damn coat? What were you, raised by wolves?"

According to Francesca, the two Rays' decision to "shack up together"—as she put it—within about six months of being partnered at the precinct had surprised a fairly large number of people. Fraser hadn't been one of those people.

"Go ahead, say that to my ma the next time she comes over, I dare you," came Ray Kowalski's voice, sounding totally unperturbed. "Who's on the phone?"

"Fraser."

"Hey, Fraser," said Ray, closer to the phone now. "Vecchio's casting aspirations on my heritage. You gonna stand by and let him do that?"

"I—" Fraser started, but from the muffled sounds on the other end, it was clear that both Rays were distracted.

"It's 'aspersions,' you moron," Ray Vecchio said after a few seconds, affection deepening his voice.

"I know that, Professor Dumbass, but we gotta give him something to correct us on, keeps him happy. Right, Fraser?"

Fraser smiled. "I appreciate your sacrifice, Ray."

"Kowalski got a Word of the Day calendar for his birthday, and now he thinks he's getting paid by the letter," Ray explained wryly.

"I got two letters for you, Vecchio—wanna guess what they are?"

As they continued to volley back and forth, Fraser closed his eyes and just listened, let the sense of the words wash over him and focused on the feeling underneath. It sounded like warmth, like home, and the ache that had been building in his chest suddenly sharpened to an almost unbearable point. Every time he talked to either of them, they invited him to Chicago or hinted that they wouldn't mind a vacation to Canada, but he'd staunchly refused every time, not wanting to interfere with what they were building together.

"Hey, Benny. You still with us?" Ray's voice broke into his reverie.

"Yes, sorry. I didn't…" He swallowed. "I didn't want to interrupt." He opened his eyes and found that Dief was sitting upright, looking up at him with his head cocked.

Ray hesitated, then, "You should be, y'know."

Fraser blinked. "Should be what?"

"Here. With us." There had been motion in the background, the familiar sound of Ray Kowalski getting himself settled with a beer and the remote control, but it stopped abruptly.

"Oh. I." The invitation wasn't uncommon, but something about the tone of Ray's voice, coupled with the way Fraser's thoughts had just been tending, threw him off balance. "I appreciate the thought, Ray, but I—"

"I know, I know," Ray sighed. "Million harp seals to rescue, no rest for the wicked, I know. It's just…" Another pause. "Geez, you don't make this easy."

Fraser was virtually certain he knew what was coming next, and he waited for the fear, for the flight instinct, for the clamor of honor and duty and friendship, but it never came. He looked around his cabin—the cabin he'd built with his own hands, his refuge—but all he felt was a steady strong pull in his chest, tugging him southward.

"Look, Benny," Ray was saying. "Kowalski and me, we've been talking. And I know we said… we all had stuff we had to figure out on our own, OK? I had to figure out the bowling alley life wasn't for me, you had to figure out whether you could still hack it in the frozen North, Kowalski had to figure out… well, I'm not sure exactly what Kowalski had to figure out, except to throw away the empty juice container instead of putting it back in the refrigerator—" and he paused for an exasperated noise from the Ray in question, which was delivered right on cue; Fraser grinned despite the knot in his throat "—but you see my point here. There were _things_ , is what I'm saying, important things, and worthy things, but it's been a long time now, Benny, and we got it pretty good here, only it's gonna be winter soon, and—"

"Ray." The word slipped from his mouth, easy as breathing.

"Yeah?"

"I can't come to Chicago on such short notice. There's no one to take care of the team, and I can't travel with them."

Another sigh, this one with an edge of growl mixed in. "Benny—"

"But if you and Ray could see your way to a visit here," Fraser went on, "I'd appreciate the company."

Silence on the other end of the line. Then, incredulously, "Really?"

Fraser smiled. Dief's tail was wagging now, swishing eagerly from side to side on the smooth wooden floor. "Yes, Ray. Really."

Ray lowered his voice a little. "You… you know what we're saying, here, right? You know what we're—"

Fraser smiled. "Yeah. I know." He could feel his neck getting hot, but it was an oddly pleasant sensation, like sitting near a fire. "At least, I _hope_ I know."

"Well." Ray cleared his throat. "OK. That was… huh. All right. Good." Fraser typically restricted his betting to stakes such as toothpicks, candy, and air, but at that moment he would have wagered his entire property that Ray was blushing, too. It sounded good. Then, "Hey, Kowalski." Ray's voice was louder now, clearer, a grin ringing through every syllable. "Pack your shit, we're going to Canada."

There was a whoop, followed by a delighted, "Well, it's about fucking time."

"Yeah, well. The Mountie, sometimes he takes a while to get the message, y'know?"

"Maybe we shoulda told him in semaphore. Smoke signals. Spelled it out in pemmican on a polar ice cap." Close to the phone, sounding like it was reflecting off skin.

Fraser pressed the receiver closer to his ear, warmth sliding through him, opening him up. Too easy. This was all too easy, but he couldn't seem to find his caution anywhere. "Fortunately," he said, "once I do get the message, I'm able to act on its contents with great dedication and alacrity."

"Oooh, _alacrity_ ," teased Ray Kowalski. "Who needs a Word of the Day calendar when we got you?"

"Geez, Benny, starting with the phone sex already? You could at least buy us dinner first," Ray Vecchio chided him, all mock affront, and Fraser laughed and closed his eyes while the world clicked into place around him.  



End file.
